Determinants and Preventive Strategies to Reduce Food Waste in Households

Abstract

Reduction and better management of food waste affects food security at the household level. Various efforts to increase availability by optimizing production have been carried out but it will be more difficult if it is not accompanied by a reduction in food waste which tends to increase, especially at the consumer level. This study aims to examine how behavior and preventive strategies to reduce food waste in households from various literatures can be used as educational materials or the basis for food waste management programs from households. This Systematic Review study was conducted using the PubMed/Medline, Science Direct, and Google Scholar search databases. Search was limited to articles in peer-reviewed journals, written in English and Indonesian between 2013 and 2022. Publications older than 2013 were not included in compiling the study. After the literature was obtained, then the articles were filtered by title and abstract, including filtering out irrelevant and duplication articles so that there were 13 articles eligible for review. Food loss and waste accounts for > 20% of all food produced, which should still be avoided because reducing food waste can increase food availability for the community. The most widely discussed determinants in the study review are behaviors that include food selection, eating habits and food processing, shopping practices, and waste minimization practices. The potential for reducing food waste can be increased with the most dominant preventive strategies, namely education and socialization, then food management at the individual level, community and government participation.